More fallout from TLTI closed-door meetings

LANSDOWNE – There’s been more fallout from a couple of private May meetings by Leeds and the Thousand Islands council.

Coun. John Paul Jackson has reportedly offered to resign if the rest of council stops any disciplinary action against four township staffers, according to the Recorder and Times.

He would also issue an apology and shut down his social media channels if the municipality appoints a mediator to watch the working conditions within the municipality for six months to protect four workers.

An investigator’s report into a human resources complaint, tabled at one of those closed-door meetings, resulted in a majority of council looking at firing two managers and suspending two other employees.

The investigator found there had been false claims of sexual and workplace harassment against another employee.

Jackson, feeling the plan to terminate the four was too much and the decision was being made too quickly, decided to make the documents and discussions public, contrary of the municipal code of conduct.

He also wanted the investigator’s full report and not a summary given to council – something he says was denied by the mayor.

The move has created a furor among the rest of the councillors – some suggesting he step down.

The issue will come up at Monday’s (July 10) council meeting when a motion to call in the integrity commissioner to look into Jackson’s actions will be considered – something he welcomes.

The same set of closed-door meetings in May resulted in a shouting match between Jackson and Mayor Joe Baptista during a special council meeting in early June over how the municipality was handling the hiring of CAO Greg Borduas following his probationary period.